Luke McShane was already looking forward to the Deutschland Grand Prix as part of the 48th International Dortmund Chess Days last year. But in 2021, the entry regulations between England and Germany due to the pandemic threw a spanner in the works. As promised last year by tournament director Andreas Jagodzinsky, Luke McShane will now receive a starting place in the Deutschland Grand Prix of the 49th International Dortmund Chess Days!

Another grandmaster of the world's elite will compete in the Deutschland Grand Prix of the 49th International Dortmund Chess Days: David Navara is coming to the Sparkassen Chess Trophy in July! This makes him the fourth confirmed participant after last year's winner GM Pavel Eljanov, last year's runner-up GM Dmitrij Kollars and European Champion GM Matthias Blübaum. 

Already the eighth grandmaster can be found on the list of participants of the Sparkassen Open A more than 3 months before the tournament starts and again it is a very prominent face:
GM Adrian Mikhalchishin (Slovenia) is now 10th on the starting list! 

With 8.5 points out of 11 games, GM Matthias Blübaum won the European Championship in Terme Čatež, Slovenia, without a single defeat!
The whole event team of the Sparkassen Chess Trophy congratulates him on this massive success!

Blübaum will take part in the Deutschland Grand Prix in the summer and is thus the third confirmed participant in the 7-player round robin tournament. The tournament gives the best German players the chance to measure themselves against international top grandmasters and takes place within the framework of the 49th International Dortmund Chess Days. Spectators and Open participants can now look forward to seeing the Lemgo-born European Champion at the board. Just like the NC World Masters of the Sparkassen Chess Trophy, the tournament will be accompanied by commentator GM Artur Jussupow and also WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni.